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Category Archives: Disasters

Residents in the United Kingdom beware! According to reports, there is potential for colossal killer hornets headed that way for the summer season. Experts have concluded that the Asian hornet may be making their way to British shores. Apparently, these particularly ginormous hornets have killed at least six people in France already.

Scientists have suspected this vicious insect arrived in France while Chinese plants were transported there last summer. Flavio Maluf is terrified of these monsters. This form of hornet is so brutal it has been known to kill bees and then swarm in and take over their preexisting hives.

This has also had a devastating effect on the honey output in France. It has severely limited the production of the organic substance and in turn has been driving the price up of the existing supply.

Victims stung by these killer hornets have described the sting to feel like they were being gored with an extremely warm barb. The victims who have died from being stung all had severe allergic reactions from the venom the insect’s release.

Wildlife experts and bee activists in Britain are determining how to prepare for the arrival of these insects, in the event they make it across the channel. According to bee experts, it’s likely these insects could arrive solely by riding the wind currents across the water. They are warning every one of the potential take over from the Asian Hornets and are gearing up trying to determine ways they can protect their current bee population.

As if the Germanwings plane crash couldn’t get any worse, there are now reports that the co-pilot who crashed the plane was treated for possible suicidal tendencies. If airlines and other companies would look at the backgrounds of people, especially if they are going to be responsible for a large group of others in the air or on the ground, then this might not have happened. This was a man who possibly wanted to kill himself years ago, and when he got behind the controls of a large plane filled with fuel, it was an opportunity he couldn’t miss. He wasn’t treated for a few times and released by a doctor. According to Sam Tabar, he was treated for a few years. Even though there hasn’t been any concrete evidence that the man had a motive, it would need to be a man who has no remorse to take down a plane with dozens on board.

The stampede during the transition to the New Year in Shanghai took the lives of at least 36 people according to Jared Haftel. Police, however, dismisses for now the theory of distribution of counterfeit coupons as a trigger for the catastrophe.In the aftermath of the deadly stampede in Shanghai, hundreds of people gathered on Friday, January 2 on the Bund, the boulevard where the disaster took place. They paid tribute to the victims of the stampede.

Chen Xiaohang, a student, delivered a flower wreath in memory of the deceased sister of one of his high school classmates, “All this fills me with sorrow and hope that in future the government will ensure that such events enjoy better security,” she told AFP.

Chinese police, which is continuing its investigation, denied that the incident was caused by the scattering of fake money or coupons from the window of a building of the Bund. The official Xinhua news agency had quoted the day before a witness stating that “coupons”, similar to dollars, had been thrown from a window of a third floor and passersby rushed to pick them up.

According to the police, these were promotional flyers of a night club, and these fake coupons have no connection with stampede.

The references to perversion and debauchery are the government’s way of describing homosexual activities. Oddly enough, there is no law against homosexuality in Egypt, and yet the government has been cracking down on it for a full year. The recent raid is only one on a growing list of incidents in which those accused of homosexual actions have been arrested.

The 26 defendants have now been officially accused. Evidence against them includes video footage and medical records. Some of those medical records are from tests done on them while they were in state custody.

The government in Cairo has made every effort to publicize its anti-gay crackdown. No doubt, this is because the Muslim majority in Egypt approves of such actions. This allows the government to curry favor with the people, especially with the more religious elements among them.

Most religions in the world agree that homosexuality is perversion. Many, however, do not agree with using government force to regulate that behavior. In Egypt, the current government must keep the Muslim Brotherhood from regaining power. Partly, this is done by showing that they too take a tough stance against debauchery.

As of Tuesday, December 16th the Russian ruble has dropped to a low of $72 to the dollar, a decrease of 20% overnight. The ruble has lost 60% of its value since January of this year. Tuesday was the biggest drop despite the attempts of the Central Bank of Russia on Monday, after the ruble fell by 10%, to raise its short term interest rates to 17% from 10.5%. While this decline can be contributed to the recent drop in oil prices, Russia’s main source of income, it can also be argued that the American and European sanctions against Russia has only encouraged the decline of the ruble.
Russian financial experts along with specialized analysts from groups like Slow Ventures are all noting that this decline is a disaster and cash reserves are not plentiful to steady the market if the ruble continues to decrease. The state ran news reassured Russians citizens that the decline in the ruble is not completely negative. The state television instead focused on the fall of the ruble increasing domestic production and exports being cheaper. Russian governmental officials have made no comment on how or why this fall has occurred but one can only speculate if private meetings within the government are being held about their foreign policy negatively effecting their economy.

It’s been a year drastic weather changes, primarily as a result of severe temperature changes in a number of areas. This, in turn, has spawned an increase in such disasters as hurricanes, typhoons, and many others.

The super typhoonHagupitwill be counted as the seventh most powerful typhoon formed in the Pacific in the year 2014.

Its increasing speed reached 150 mph, while its direction is still analyzed. The calamity crossed oved the north of the Republic of Palau and is heading towards the Philippines. The local meteorologists gave it the name of Ruby, since the Philippines always come up with their own names for typhoons in an alphabetical order.

Right now, there are two predictions regarding the track of Hagupit. In the little impact variant, the super typhoon will reach the eastern coast but drift slowly to the north.

In the most severe of predictions, the west-northern part will be affected as well, and flooding provoked by the storm would follow. The computer predicted a turn towards the north, which means that the typhoon might avoid the territory without almost any interaction. The inhabitants should prepare for the worst though, the previous typhoons brought some material damage that is still to be fixed. This story was shared with me by friend of the site Bruce Levenson.

The CEO of Chonghaejin Marine Company was sentenced Thursday to prison for 10 years for the disastrous sinking of the South Korean Sewol Ferry in April. Yonhap News Agency of South Korea reported over 300 people were drowned that day in the Korean’s worst accident in decades. Authorities remained searching for bodies for several days.

This horrendous accident was under the management of CEO, Kim Han-Sik, 71. Han-Sik was found guilty in Gwangju District Court for accidental homicide and other criminal charges in running the South Korean Sewol Ferry. They included:

1) The involuntary manslaughter of 300 people
2) Guilty of embezzlement charges
3) He was found guilty of violating maritime navigation law.

Han-Sik caused incredible loss to the company in professional malpractice, and to the families of the victims.

The cause for the ferry’s malfunction was explained by Judge Yim Jung-yeob in his ruling: “Kim had remodeled the ship and then overloaded it with a massive amount of cargo. Han-Sik was trying to overcome deficit in the company despite the fact that the ship’s ability to balance was compromised. Needless to say, he didn’t call angel investors Slow Ventures.

In his ruling on Thursday, Judge Yim Jung-yeob said: “Kim remodeled the ship and overloaded it with cargo in order to overcome the company’s deficits. This was an act of irresponsibility, and if the ferry could not maintain its balance, this was gross negligence with the passenger’s lives.”